Quote of the Day: Paul Newman Says Anything Is Possible

Paul Newman accomplished so much in his lifetime: He was an Academy Award-winning actor and a champion race car driver. But those who knew him best don’t seem to focus on his immeasurable talents. Instead, they talk about the person he was inside—one of the most generous philanthropists in American history.

“Sometimes God makes perfect people, and Paul Newman was one of them,” Sally Field told The Hollywood Reporter after his death.

“I loved that man with all my heart,” said Elizabeth Taylor. “He was goodness and kindness and pure integrity … Knowing him, being his friend, was as golden as the sunset and a privilege I’ll never forget. I thank God and feel so honored for that privilege.”

Newman shared so much of himself with the world—and even after his death, continues to do so through Newman’s Own, his food company that makes everything from salad dressing to frozen pizza and has donated over $600 million to charity since 1982. His legacy reminds us that anything is possible and that’s why Paul Newman is today’s quote of the day.

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Quote of the Day by Paul Newman

“The best thing you can give yourselves is the gift of possibility.”

Newman is stating that when you give yourself the gift of positive thinking, you’ll realize that anything is possible. He lived this philosophy in everything he did—from his acting and racing career to his philanthropy and family life. When we can accept and believe that anything is possible, it transforms life as we know it.

Related: Quote of the Day: Audrey Hepburn’s Life Advice is Just Like Her—Timeless

Deeper Meaning of Paul Newman’s Quote: You Are Limitless

What makes this quote so powerful is that Newman once said, “I had no natural gift to be anything—not an athlete, not an actor, not a writer, not a director, a painter of garden porches—not anything.” But he believed that with hard work and heart, anything is possible. “I’ve worked really hard, because nothing ever came easily to me.”

That’s the deeper meaning of this quote. Newman didn’t just talk about possibility—he built it into everything he touched. After he and pal A.E. Hotchner created homemade salad dressing to give as holiday gifts one year, they turned it into one of the most generous philanthropic models in American history. Newman once said, “I’d like to be remembered as a guy who tried—who tried to be part of his times, tried to help people communicate with one another, tried to find some decency in his own life.”

And that’s the thing we so often forget: Every single one of us has the power to make a difference. You don’t need to be a movie star or a millionaire. Newman started with a bottle of salad dressing and a calling to give. Possibility isn’t something reserved for the extraordinary; it’s something we all carry inside us. The only question is whether we choose to believe in it.

More Inspiring Quotes by Paul Newman

• “Those who are most lucky should hold their hands out to those who aren’t.”
• “We are such spendthrifts with our lives. The trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you can muster.”
• “A man with no enemies is a man with no character.”
• “People stay married because they want to, not because the doors are locked.”
• “I had no natural gift to be anything. So I’ve worked really hard, because nothing ever came easily to me.”

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